Combination lock



0a. 27, 1953 H, c, BEHRENS 2,656,705

COMBINATION LOCK Filed Dec. 2, 1949 l 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEYS Oct.27, 1953 c, BEHRENs 2,656,705

COMBINATION LOCK Filed D66. 2, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

Herbert LZBehrens ATTORNEYS Patented Oct. 27, 1953 COMBINATION LOCKHerbert G. Behrens, Canton, Ohio, assignor to Diebold, Incorporated,Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application December 2, 1949, SerialNo. 130,722

Claims.

My invention or discovery relates to combination locks generally, andparticularly to a combination lock such as set forth in U. S. LettersPatent No. 1,956,304 issued to Albert L. Abbott and Charles H. Miller,April 24, 1934, and which includes a case on the rear of the doorequipped with the lock, one or more coaxial cylindrical tumblers havingequal diameters and being rotatably mounted in the case, a spindleextending from the outside of the door through the door and into thecase and the spindle having a dial with a knob mounted on its outer endrotatable within a dial ring on the outer face of the door and thespindle having on its inner end beyond the tumblers a cylindrical camwith an operating notch. Usual pin, lever and circular segment meanscoact between the cam and the innermost tumbler, and between eachtumbler and the next outer tumbler, whereby by manipulation of the dialand setting the combination, the notches of the tumblers are alignedwith each other and with the operating notch of the cam for unlockingthe lock. i

The lock furthermore includes a reciprocable bolt pivotally connectedwith one end of an operating lever including an upper arm having a camfollower tongue depending from its outer end, and a stop arm or fenceextending from the inner side of the upper arm parallel with the axis ofthe tumblers. The operating lever is spring pressed towards thetumblers, and when the tumbler notches are aligned with each other andthe operating notch of the cam which is located in the aligned positionbelow the cam follower tongue of the upper arm, the fence is permittedto drop into the tumbler notches and the cam follower tongue ispermitted to drop into the operating notch of the cam, whereby the boltmay be withdrawn from its extended locking position, and whereby thebolt may be also extended to locking position when the door is againclosed and locked by suitable rotations of the dial and spindle. Afterthe bolt is extended into locking position, the spindle is then spun ineither direction to scramble the combination by turning the tumblers sothat their notches are out of alignment with each other.

Such a look as set forth in said Abbott and Miller U. S. Letters PatentNo. 1,956,304, with respect to the parts above described is similar toother usual combination loclm. When the bolt is extended and thecombination scrambled the fence rests upon the cylindrical peripheriesof the tumblers. If such a lock is made in a laboratory to extremeaccuracy, and assembled with extreme precision, the lock cannot bemanipulated by an unauthorized person so as to detect the combinationand effect unlocking. In the usual mass production of the parts of sucha lock and i the assembly of the same, the extreme accuracy necessaryfor preventing manipulation cannot be attained. Unless the bottomsurface of the fence is exactlyparallel with the axis of rotation of thetumblers, and unless the diameters of the tumbler discs are all exactlythe same, when the fence rides over the opening formed by one of thetumbler notches, even though its bottom surface is riding on theperipheries of the remaining tumbler discs, very minute movements of thefence as it ridesover the corners of such a notch can be felt inrotating the dial by the fingers of an unauthorized person who knows theinternal construction of the look. In this manner the combination forwhich the lock is set can be detected. Ordinarily, a person skilled inbreaking the-combination of such a lock" can determine the combinationby manipulation in the manner described in aboutthirty minutes.

The objects of the present invention or discovery'include the provisionof an improved combinationlock of the type set forth in the Abbott andMiller U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304, and in which the fence isentirely eliminated, and in which there is no part whatever whichcontacts the tumbler notch corners during manipulation of the dial, andthus there is no feeling whatever transmitted to a person manipulatingthe dial.

Further objects of the present invention or discovery include theprovision of such an improved combination lock in which the improvementsmay be effected by the addition of or modification of a limited numberof parts of the combination lock set forth in said Abbott and Miller U.S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304 and which is thus adapted for economicalmanufacture without the necessity of manufacturing an entirely new setof parts for the improved lock.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the combination lock,construction, improvements, parts, combinations, and sub-combinationswhich comprise the present invention or discovery, the nature of whichis set forth in the following general statement, and preferredembodiments of which together with their mode of use are set forth byway of example in the following description, and which are particularlyand distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims formingpart hereof.

The nature of the improved combination lock of the present invention ordiscovery may be stated in general terms as including, in combinationwith other usual parts of a combination lock such as set forth in saidAbbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304, the provision ofan operating lever including an upper arm having a cam follower tonguedepending from its outer end and without a fence, and on the rear end ofthe bolt the provision of a tongue adapted to extend into the oppositelyaligned notches of the tumblers when the combination is set, and thespindle being arranged for movement in the direction of its longitudinalaxis and being normally spring pressed in the direction of the dialknob, and the cam on the inner end of the spindle having an operatingnotch in a portion immediately adjacent the tumblers and having acomplete cylindrical portion beyond the notched portion.

By way of example, preferred embodiments of the combination locks of thepresent improvements and parts thereof are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings formingpart hereof, in which:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of one embodiment of theimproved combination lock looking towards the rear face of the door onwhich the lock is mounted and with the cover plate of the lock removed,and showing the parts of the lock in their relative positions when thebolt is in its fully extended locking position, and with the tumblerwheels having their notches scrambled;

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the parts of the lock intheir relative positions when the bolt is in its fully extended lockingposition, and with the tumbler wheels having their notches alignedaftersetting of the combination, and with the cam having its cylindricalportion supporting the cam follower tongue on the upper arm of theoperating lever, and the notch of the notched portion of the cam beingin alignment with and at one side of the cam follower tongue;

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view as on line 33 of Fig. 2;

. Fig. 4 is a View similar to Figs. 1 and 2, and showing the parts ofthe lock in their relative positions when the bolt is withdrawn to theunlocking position;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view thereof as on line 5-5, Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a fragmenary front elevational view looking towards the frontface of the door, and illustrating the dial and knob, and the dial ringof the lock Fig. '7 is an enlarged fragmentary rear elevational viewshowing parts of the lock in the same relative positions shown in Fig,2, and illustrating details of the drive between the cam and theadjacent tumbler wheel;

Fig. 8 is a detached side elevational view of one of the tumbler wheelsv Fig. 9 is a detached elevational view of the pin face of the tumblerWheel of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a detached elevational view of the lug face of the tumblerwheel of Figs. 8 and .9;

Fig. 11 is a detached rear end elevation of the cam of the lock;

Fig. 12 is a longitudinal section through the cam shown in Fig. 11; and

Fig. 13 is a front end elevation of the cam of Figs. 11 and 12.

Similar numerals refer to similar parts throughout the drawings. 7

One embodiment of the improved combination lock is indicated generallyat It], and includes a case I I which is mounted on the inner face [2 ofa door [3, which may be the door of a safe, and the lock may be used forstopping boltwork, not shown, in a usual manner. The look It) includescertain parts not shown in detail and which are substantially identicalwith such parts as shown and described in said Abbott and Miller U. S.Letters Patent No. 1,956,304, whereas other parts of the lockconstruction of said Abbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No.1,956,304 pertinent to the present improvements, are shown and describedin detail herein, as well as modified parts of the lock construction ofsaid Abbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304, and partsadded thereto for the attainment of the present improvements.

The case ll includes a tube l4 extending from the base wall l5 of thecase, and the base wall is abutted against the inner face [2 of the doorI3. The tube l4 constitutes internal and external bearing means.

The bore of the tube I4 communicates with a registering aperture formedin the base or front wall l5 of the case, and with an aperture formed inthe door 13, and an operating spindle I6 is journalled in the tube l4and extends through the apertures of the base wall 15 and door [3. Theoperating spindle i6 is also slidable or movable in the tube M in thedirection of its longitudinal axis.

The spindle is may be otherwise described as bein axially adjustable bymovement-to selected positions in the direction of its longitudinalaxis.

A dial ring I"! is secured upon the front face is of the door l3, andthe spindle l6 also extends through an aperture formed in the dial ring,and a knob is and dial 20 are secured upon the outer end of theoperating spindle I6.

The dial may have inscribed thereon equally spaced division lines, eachtenth division lines of which is numbered successively from 10 to 100.

A single preferably vertically extending mark or arrow 2| is formed orinscribed on the dial ring above the knob, and the mark 2| is utilizedin conjunction with rotation of the dial 2!] both for operating thecombination, and for changing the combination, by reason of theimprovements of the several mechanisms of the lock set forth in detailin said Abbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304.

Within the case ll of the look I 0, tumbler wheels 22, 22', and 22" arejournalled on the tube It between the base wall [5 and a cam 23, the cambeing removably secured upon the extremity of the spindle l6 within thecase, as by means of cooperating screw threads on the cam and spindleand a key 24 interposed in keyways formed in the cam'and spindle.

The wheel 22 adjacent the cam 23 is driven by a usual pin 25 mounted onthe spindle, preferably on the inner face of the cam 23 which is securedas aforesaid on the spindle. The drive from the pin on the cam to theadjacent wheel .22 is by usual means such as a lever 26 journalled onthe tube I4 and having one side abutted by the cam drive pin and theother side abutting one end of a segmental flange or lug 29 on the hubor center 28 of the wheel 22. Similar drive means, such as a pin 30,carry the drive from the wheel 22 to the wheel 22' and from the wheel22' to the wheel 22". Such drive means are set forth in detail in saidAbbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No. 1,956,304.

Each of the wheels 22, 22, 22" are preferably of the construction setforth in detail in said Abbott and Miller U. S. Letters Patent No.1,956,304, and each wheel may be described generally as including aspaced pair of outer ring disc members releasable and engageable withthe hub or center 28, and the means for effecting the drive from the cam23 to the wheel 22, and from the wheel 22 to the wheel 22', and from thewheel 22' to the wheel 22 include the segmental lug or flange 29 on oneside of the hub or center, and the pin 30 on the other sideof the hub orcenter of each wheel.

The lock in furthermore includes a bolt 35 mounted in suitable slideways36a and 361) formed in the case II, for movement to and from theextended looking or bolting position, illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3. Themovement is a sliding movement, and the bolt 35 is a slide bolt operatedby a rotation of the spindle I6. The combination locks of the presentinvention, as are the locks of said Abbott and Miller U. S. LettersPatent 1,956,304, are of the general type including a rotary spindleoperated slide bolt.

Movement of the bolt 35 to and from looking or bolting position may onlybe made after the tumbler wheels have been rotated to certain positionsrelative to each other as determined by the particular combination forwhich the lock is set. That is to say the combination is determined bythe relative location of each wheel center with respect to its outerdiscs, and the discs of each wheel have outwardly opening registeringnotches 31 formed therein which must be aligned with the notches of allthe other wheel discs for permitting movement of the bolt 35.

The bolt moving means permitted to be operated when the notches 31 ofthe wheels have been aligned with each other as illustrated in Figs. 2and 4, include an operating lever 38 which is pivotally mounted on thebolt 35 as by means of a pivot screw 33. The lever 38 includes an upperoperating arm 38a extending upwardly from the pivot screw 39 and abovethe cam 23.

The operating arm 380. has formed thereon a cam follower tongue 3817which extends from the arm 33a towards the axis of the spindle shaft andin line with the cam 23, and the cam 23 has a lever operating notch 23aformed therein which cooperates with the follower tongue 38b for movingthe operating lever and bolt when the tongue is permitted to be insertedinto the cam notch 23a. A spring 39-l normally presses the lever arm 38atowards the cam 23.

For the purposes of the present improvements, the cam 23 includes a hub23b and an enlarged cylindrical head 230, the hub having an internallythreaded bore and a keyway formed therein for connection with thespindle [6 a above described. The head 210 has a substantial thicknessand the cam notch 23a is formed in one end 23) of the head, which isadjacent the tumblers and is the front end of the head 230 withreference to the door 13 on which the lock is mounted. The other or rearend 239 of the head 230 is cylindrical around its entire periphery.

The hub 23b of the cam 23 rotatably and slidably fits in a counterboreformed in the rear end of the bore of the tube M. The spindle aperturein the door 13 is provided with a forwardly opening counterbore l3-I inits front face, and a compression spring 55 is located around thespindle 16 in the counterbore |3l, one end of the compression spring 5|]reacting against the bottom of the counterbore l3--| and the other endreacting against the rear end 19-! of the knob l9, through one or morewashers, as shown. The

- spindle i6 is thus spring pressed forwardly so that the cam 23 isnormally urged to one position of axial adjustment against the rear endof the tube It as best shown in Fig. 3. Pushing the knob l9 rearwardlytowards the door [3 displaces the cam 23 rearwardly to the otherposition of axial adjustment shown in Fig. 5.

Further for the purposes of the present immovements, the bolt 35 isprovided on its inner end with an extension tongue 35--l which has arectangular transverse cross section having a width as best shown inFig. 4 equal to the width of the tumbler notches 31. When thecombination is set permitting extension and retraction of the bolt 35the notches 31 are aligned with each other and with the bolt tongue35--| as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

When the bolt 35 is extended to the lockin position as shown in Fig. l,the cam follower tongue 38b on the operating arm 38a of the operatinglever 38 is seated on the cylindrical inner end portion 23g of the cam23.

The operating arm 38a having no fence, when the lock is beingmanipulated there is no feel transmitted from the tumbler notches 31through the knob to the fingers of the person manipulating the lock.

When the combination has been set as shown in Fig. 2, the notches 31 arealigned with each other and with the bolt extension 35--I, and the camfollower tongue 38b rests on a sector of the inner cylindrical portion239 at the inner side of the lever operatin notch 23a. The knob I9 isthen pushed in towards the door i3 displacing the spindle l6 and the camhead 23c rearwardly so that the cam follower tongue 38b drops down intothe notch 23a, after which the knob I9 may be turned to withdraw thebolt to the unlocked position as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. The action ofthe spring 39|, or spring in the operating arm 38 itself, or otherspring means, serves to urge the outer end of the operating arm 38arearwardly so that after the bolt has been extended to the lockingposition and the tumblers are scrambled as shown in Fig. 1 the camfollower tongue 38b rides on the cylindrical rear end portion 23g of thecam 23.

It is noted that pushing the spindle [6 rearwardly (1) serves todisengage the cam head 230 from the tumblers, regardless of the locationof the lever operating notch 23a.

When the combination has been set so that the cam follower tongue 38brests on a sector of the inner cylindrical cam portion 23g at the innerside of the notch 23a, pushing the spindle I3 rearwardly (2) serves torelease the lock or hold of the bolt lever 38a effected (3) bymaintaining the tongue 38b on the cylindrical cam portion When the,tongue 38b, drops into the notch 23a (4) the spindle l6 and cam head 230are. locked in the rear or pushed in position.

A very simple form of lock utilizing the longitudinally movable spindleIS, the cam head 230, the bolt 35, and the operating arm 38a with itscam follower tongue 38b, would not necessarily require any tumblers.

The tongue 38b on the lever 38a and the cylindrical cam portion 23g maybe more broadly termed interengageable stop means on the lever andspindle holding the lever in a raised position with respect to thespindle when the spindle broadly termed is in its-positionof'ax-ialad-iustment with thecam head :23cabu ing t e inner en of hetube 14.

Thenotch 23a and the tongue 38b mat be mor nteren a eable notch an t uemeans on the spindle and lever for actuating the lever to operate thebolt by rota ion of hespindle when th spindle is pushed in to its otherposition of axial adjustment.

'I'heinner side-Of the tongue 38 nd the inner wall of the cam notch 23aconstitute interena in stop means on the lever and spindle holding thespindle insaid other position of axial adjustment.

In the f rego ng description, certain t rms have. been used for brevity.clearness. and understandin but no unnecessary limitations are to beimplied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because suchwords are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to bebroadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated anddescribed herein are by way of example,and th scope of the presentinvention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, theoperation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and theadvantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and usefulconstructions, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious tothose skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination lock construction, a base wall, a tube extending fromone side of the base wall, a spindle journalled and longitudinallyslidable in the tube, a plurality of tumbler wheels journalleol on thetube, a dial knob on the spindle on the other side of the base wall, acam on the spindle beyond the tube and the tumbler wheels, the camincluding a head and the cam head having .a portion adjacent the tubeand tumblers formed with an outwardly opening cam notch, the remainingperipheral sector of the notched portion of the cam being cylindricaland the portion of the cam head beyond the notchedportion being entirelycylindrical and merging with the cylindrical peripheral sector of thenotched portion, the tumbler wheels each being formed with an outwardlyopening notch, drive means operative between the cam and the adjacenttumbler wheel and drive means operative between each adjacent pair oftumbler wheels, a bolt mounted on the base wall for movement to and froman extended locking position, the bolt having an inner end adjacent thetumbler wheels and the inner end of the bolt having an extension tonguedimensioned for permitting movement of the extension tongue into and outof the oppositely aligned notches of the tumbler wheels when thecombination is set, an operating lever, a pivotal connection between theoperating lever and the bolt, the operating lever including an upper armextending above the spindle and having a cam follower tongue dependingtowards the cam, the cam notch being arranged for alignment with the camfollower tongue in the direction of the longitudinal axis of the spindlewhen the combination is set, sprin m ans p rative o yieldinelv a nt inthe cam head against the opposite end of the tube when the bolt is inthe extended locking position and during setting of the combination, andthe cam tongue ridingon the entirely cylindrical portion of ,thecam headwhen the bolt is in the extended lockinsDOsition and during setting ofthe combination, thecam tongue being arranged to drop into the cam notchwhen the dial knob is pushed towards the base wall after setting of thecombination.

7 2. In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 1, and inwhich the base wall and other walls form a case housing and mountingarts of the lock.

constitutes a compression spring interposed between the base wall andthe dial knob.

5. In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 1, and inwhich the spring means includes a helical compression spring extendingaround the spindle and interposed between the base wall and the dialknob.

-6. In combination lock construction, a base wall, a tube extending fromone side of the base wall, a spindle journalled and longitudinallyslidable in the tube, a tumbler wheel journallcd on the tube, a dialknob on the spindle on the other side of the base wall, a cam on thespindle beyond the tube and the tumbler wheel, the cam including a headand the cam head having a portion adjacent the tube and tumbler formedwith an outwardly opening cam notch, the remaining peripheral sector ofthe notched portion of the cam being cylindrical and the portion of thecam head beyond the notched portion being entirely cylindrical andmerging with the cylindrical peripheral sector of the notched portion,the tumbler wheel being formed with an outwardly opening notch, drivemeans operative between the cam and the tumbler wheel, a bolt mounted onthe base wall for movement to and from an extending osition, the bolthaving an inner end adjacent the tumbler wheel and the inner end of thebolt having an extension tongue dimensioned for permitting movement ofthe extension ton ue into and out of the oppositely aligned notch of thetumbler wheel when the combination is set, an operating lever, a pivotalconnection between the operating lever and the bolt, the operating leverincluding an upper arm extending above the spindle and having a camfollower tongue depending towards the cam, the cam notch being arrangedfor alignment with the cam follower tongue in the direction of thelongitudinal axis of the spindle when the combination is set, springmeans operative to yieldingly maintain the cam head against the oppositeend of the tube when the bolt is in the extended locking position andduring setting of the combination, and the cam tongue riding on theentirely cylindrical portion of the cam head when the bolt is in theextended locking position and during set. ting of the combination, thecam tongue being arranged to drop into the cam notch when the dial knobis pushed towards the base wall after setting of the combination.

7, In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 6, and inwhich the base wall and other walls form a case housing and mountingPartsof the lock.

8. In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 6, and inwhich the extension tongue of the bolt has a rectangular transversecross section dimensioned so as to fit with clearance into and out ofthe aligned notch of the tumbler wheel when the combination is set andthe bolt is retracted or extended.

9. In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 6, and inwhich the spring means constitutes a compression spring interposedbetween the base wall and the dial knob.

10. In combination lock construction as set forth in claim 6, and inwhich the spring means includes a helical compression spring extendingaround the spindle and interposed between the base Wall and the dialknob.

HERBERT C. BEHRENS.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 78,310 Miller May 26, 1868 237,950 Bernhardt Feb. 22, 18811,655,002 Winning et a1. Jan. 3, 1928 1,956,304 Abbott et a1 Apr. 24,1934

